False Alarms for the Fat lady
by gpoy
Summary: LJ. A short, mulitchap fic that I'm writing during my exams. Fluff going spare!
1. Portrait To Fat Lady, Come in Fat Lady

Fluff! Get your fresh fluff here! Fluff going spare! We have fluff coming out of our ears! Another short and pointless L/J fic that doesn't really require much thought so I'm writing it during my exams just to keep myself going! More chapters to come. Free fluff anyone?  
  
I don't own anything except the concepts you've never heard of before. I wonder how much money I'd get for them. . . J K Rowling owns the plasticine; I just play with it.  
  
Please don't sue me; I am only a fourteen-year-old with a word-processor and a copy of the New Penguin English Dictionary.  
  
And now, our feature presentation. . .  
  
~*~One~*~Portrait To Fat Lady, Come in Fat Lady. . .~*~  
  
"As I said Vi, if he's always putting that blasted pony before you in your relationship, I'd tell him just where to stick that sword of his! And it WON'T be in a freshly mowed lawn, make no mistake. There'll be no grass growing there without sunlight. . .well, there shouldn't be anyway."  
  
Vi stirred her tea in a sad way, tapping it on the side of her cup and setting it down on her saucer.  
  
"I don't know, Etta," she sighed, absent-mindedly staring off the edge of the café table at the pink silk dress her companion was wearing. "He says a lot of things Caddy, you know he does, and sometimes he seems very. . ."  
  
"Mental?" supplied Humphreyetta.  
  
"Pardon?" Vi said.  
  
"Gentle?" repeated her amply built companion.  
  
"Yes. I'm so very confused."  
  
They made a very odd couple. Although both dressed in wide skirted silk dresses, one could be mistaken as a wedding carriage, the other a pencil in a mug. One was brunette, the other almost blindingly blonde, and the difference in pitch in their voices would have been sufficient to write an opera with.  
  
"It was awfully good of you to come out with me in my hour of need," remarked Vi lightly, "Aren't you needed tonight?"  
  
"No, no, dear, the seventh years are having a party, nobody's going to coming out of that fray until very late tomorrow morning, and those who do go out won't be coming back in until very late tomorrow morning, if you know what I mean, dear." Vi sniggered, then sighed. The wider companion rolled her eyes.  
  
"Well, my advice, Vi dear," she said, "Is not to let it get you down; it's only a phase I should think, and anyway, plenty more colours in the paint pallet." She suddenly seemed to remember something and leaned forward with a sly smile, making her already portly cheeks swell. "Besides, I hear old Dumbledore has picked up a leaflet for that art exhibition on Michelangelo's "David"." Vi gasped with her hand to her chest.  
  
"Shall we get him to buy a canvas?" she asked, big, blue eyes wide with excitement.  
  
"Oh, too expensive, Vi, you know what those things go for," Humphreyetta said. Vi's face fell a little. "Personally I'd prefer a little postcard, more. . .cosy if we ever were to visit the famous David," she continued in a voice that was practically nudging Vi in the ribs with its elbow and winking suggestively. Vi burst into giggles.  
  
"D'you think he'd really pin it up for us?" she struggled to ask through her bubblings of glee.  
  
"Precisely what I was thinking, my dear Violet, preferably next to Cadogan's painting!"  
  
The two of them attracted quite some attention in the small, Paris café on the fifth floor, giggling manically so their smart, flowered hats fell off and floated to the cobbled ground.  
  
"Oh, Etta, you are a dear!" Vi exclaimed passionately, her hand still on her chest as her giggles deflated. "You always know just what to say and what advice to give when anyone has relationship problems."  
  
"Oh don't, Vi, you make me blush!" smiled Etta, picking up her hat and holding it to the side of her face which was open to the street, if the artist had included it in the canvas.  
  
"Don't be so modest, Etta, you helped Darren Detritus out of his landscape and in getting the attentions of that Wood Nymph in the Head Girl's Bathroom. Now they're expecting little trolls with wings."  
  
Vi stopped abruptly when her friend's head turned sharply. Well, the neck turned the skull, but it took a little time for the movement to reach things like the distant chins and cheeks.  
  
"What is it Etta? Someone outside your tower?" she asked, a little concerned. Etta seemed to be translating some sort of radar inside her head.  
  
"Yes, Vi, seems a bit serious. Apparently someone's trying to out-run someone else. I'm afraid I'll have to go, Slytherins may be involved."  
  
~~~  
  
Would you review? 


	2. Code Red, I Repeat, Code Red

Fluff! Get your fresh fluff here! Fluff going spare! We have fluff coming out of our ears! Another short and pointless L/J fic that doesn't really require much thought so I'm writing it during my exams just to keep myself going! More chapters to come. Free fluff anyone?  
  
I don't own anything except the concepts you've never heard of before. I wonder how much money I'd get for them. . . J K Rowling owns the plasticine; I just play with it.  
  
Please don't sue me; I am only a fourteen-year-old with a word-processor and a copy of the New Penguin English Dictionary.  
  
And now, our feature presentation. . .  
  
~*~Two~*~Code Red, I Repeat, Code Red. . .~*~  
  
The subjects of portraits stared at her as she sprinted down hallways, crying harder than she had ever cried in her life. Dark red curls flying out behind her and green eyes wet with tears, Lily now wished for the first time that she hadn't fallen for stupid, stupid James Potter. The nerve of him! The amount of times he had told her he loved her, the thousands of times he had kissed her, held her hand, smiled his unique smile reserved for her. . .  
  
Lily cried harder still when she thought about how he used to play with her hair, how he'd rush over to her desk at the end of each lesson they had together and sweep up her books before she'd had a chance to even think about closing them, the way he had run out to the grounds in the pissing rain to pick her half of the Greenhouse's population of white lilies to accompany his request for her to go with him when the Yule Ball had been announced moments earlier. He hadn't even seemed to mind when he got a detention for sabotaging his own Herbology project and defacing the castle for squelching in ten minutes late for Potions, leaving muddy puddles everywhere.  
  
Then there was the time when he'd charmed his broomstick to emit a coloured trail behind it so "Lily Evans is Bloody Gorgeous" had sparkled out over the pitch in red and gold in the middle of the final match against Slytherin. And the time he'd gotten the house elves to throw her her very own birthday breakfast, distributing cupcakes with coloured icing and letters and symbols piped on them. When a Ravenclaw had asked what the letters were for James Potter had stood on his chair and made the announcement that the first person to arrange the nine characters into a twelve-character phrase would win a prize. The winner had been a first year Hufflepuff who had carefully spelt out the phrase: "LILY E + JAMES P" in front of Lily at dinner and received a batch of cupcakes with his name spelt out.  
  
Lily was briefly lost around the third floor and came across the Library where James had first kissed her. It had been in their third year and she had been a little worried because moments before, Professor Tralewney had announced that the symbol in her teacup had been the dreaded Grim. Over dinner, Tessa Fields had tried to reassure her that her brother had had the same thing happen to him and he was still fit as a fiddle, and a Beater for the Kent Kingfishers in fact, but she wouldn't listen. Only three years in the Wizarding world and already the end was supposedly near! She had just told Tessa that she was going for a walk to calm down a little and she had wondered into the Library thinking the quiet would sooth her nerves and maybe she could do some research for her Charms essay. She has been wondering among the bookshelves when James Potter had crept up behind her and tapped her on the shoulder.  
  
Needless to say, with the recent development in her predicted future, Lily had been terrified out of her Gryffindor tie.  
  
"Shh! Lily! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you!" he'd exclaimed, hurriedly pulling her into a strong hug.  
  
"It's OK," Lily breathed against his shoulder, "I'm just a little jumpy." James had waited a little while before saying,  
  
"You're not actually taking that thing in Divination today seriously, are you?" Lily had been extremely aware of the fact that his embrace hadn't loosened any and had trouble forming a coherent sentence.  
  
"No. . .I. . .I mean. . .I just. . ." Then James had pulled away, held her by the shoulders and said,  
  
"Lily, I. . .I want you to know that I don't care what dog you saw where, but I will never, ever let anything bad happen to you. . .ever."  
  
Then, he'd nervously cupped her chin in his hand, bent down, kissed her and walked back down the Care of Magical Creatures aisle.  
  
That was the minute that, although she was very reluctant to let anyone know about it, Lily Evans had fallen in love with James Potter.  
  
~  
  
Thank you to my 3 reviewers!  
  
Amanda, Trackstar Tomboy, and luv-jinxy! 


	3. Here Is Your Briefing

Fluff! Get your fresh fluff here! Fluff going spare! We have fluff coming out of our ears! Another short and pointless L/J fic that doesn't really require much thought so I'm writing it during my exams just to keep myself going! More chapters to come. Free fluff anyone?  
  
I don't own anything except the concepts you've never heard of before. I wonder how much money I'd get for them. . . J K Rowling owns the plasticine; I just play with it.  
  
Please don't sue me; I am only a fourteen-year-old with a word-processor and a copy of the New Penguin English Dictionary.  
  
And now, our feature presentation. . .  
  
~*~Three~*~Here Is Your Briefing. . .~*~  
  
James Potter had always loved a challenge, literally.  
  
In his eyes, Lily Evans was a challenge. She was shy, closed, untrusting, timid, apprehensive, anxious, hesitant and altogether the most incredibly fascinating creature he'd ever met.  
  
He made it his goal to get her to open up to him, maybe let him get to know her. It had been after the April Fools' Day in their first year when it had started to work. He and the rest of the Marauders had been clowning around all day, making their shoes larger and flatter, juggling dungbombs in their Potions lesson, throwing custard pies causing general and much needed entertainment on a Monday morning. After lessons and the Marauders had finished pointedly ignoring their homework, James had sought out the redhead and found her in the corner of the common room, curled up under a book that took up most of her lap. James had tactfully overlooked the fact that he was wearing a very brightly coloured curly wig, thought, why not? and strode over to the sofa where his target was sitting.  
  
She looked up at the 'flump' of the sofa, well. . . she looked over the ramparts of her book as if he were a knight that she wasn't quite sure she should let into her tower.  
  
"Afternoon," he greeted smartly, tugging respectfully as his elastic red nose. She drew her book towards her slightly so he could barely pick out a muffled:  
  
"Hello."  
  
"Lovely day," he smiled, and glanced up the ceiling as if they were sitting on a bench in Hyde Park. Her eyes flicked upwards momentarily and then widened. She tried to sink back further into the upholstery of the sofa.  
  
"Are. . .are you going to play a joke on me?" she whispered. James feigned thoughtfulness, held up a finger and pulled a little black book out of his back pocket.  
  
He flicked through the pages.  
  
"Nope, sorry, I'm all booked up with Slytherins and professors until July."  
  
The words came out like that but the meaning came out like:  
  
"I'd like to be your friend."  
  
Then, the most miraculous thing happened: a shadow of a hint of a suggestion of a flicker of a smile appeared on her lips! James's brain punched the air and whooped. Her eyes returned shyly to her book because she had nothing to say. It was a kind of motion that said: "I don't particularly know why you're here, but I'm not telling you to go away." James realised she couldn't really say 'thank you' or something.  
  
James ventured further across the tightrope of luck.  
  
"I could fit you in over the summer, although I'll need an address and postcode. . ."  
  
This time the tiny smile stayed when her eyes looked at him again, and James was getting the strangest feeling. Usually, he didn't feel this kind of raw euphoria when he made someone smile. It was when Lily, from behind her massive book chose to smile at his antics, that a particularly exhilarated sense flooded him.  
  
"I don't think I'll take you up on that," she said quietly through her smile. James tore his eyes away from hers for a moment to roll them and tut.  
  
"Well, that's a shame. Anyone else you'd like us to fit in? Friends, relatives, enemies, acquaintances?"  
  
She opened her mouth and a small breath of laughter came out instead of words. The strange feeling got stronger.  
  
"My sister would kill m-" she started quietly.  
  
"Your sister!" cried James in jubilation. He twisted round to face over the back of the sofa and scanned the room for Sirius. "Sirius, my friend! We have another summer order! Just getting the details!"  
  
"Hooray!" Sirius cheered. James shifted back to face her.  
  
"Anyway. . ." he started and then stopped. Her head was bent behind her book and her small form was shaking. He laid a hand on the top of the massive hardback and peered over, concerned. Maybe he'd gone too far. . .  
  
"Listen, I'm sorry if I. . ."  
  
She interrupted him with a burst of very quiet but nevertheless, very silly giggles.  
  
"Here, are you alright?" asked James. Perhaps he really had gone too far and the shock had pushed her over the edge. She took a hand off her book to brush tears from under her startlingly green eyes.  
  
"Oh, yes, I'm fine, she said dismissively.  
  
Then it truly hit James. She was laughing! Somehow this seemed like the most astounding of miracles. James started chuckling as well, and soon they were having their own private joke on a sofa in the corner of the Gryffindor Common room.  
  
It was getting late, people were starting to drift toward the dormitories. Once their laughter had faded, James stuck out his hand, after removing the electric handshake on the inside of his palm.  
  
"Well, Miss Evans, it was absolutely smashing doing business with you," he said in a formal voice that was just asking to be laughed at; Lily didn't laugh though. She just stared at his hand for a moment.  
  
Then her book fell completely flat on her lap, exposing her in a way, and she fitted her small hand in his, doing all the shaking because James had sort of frozen from shock.  
  
As she pulled her hand away and pulled up her book/drawbridge again, James smiled and got up, taking off the wig and removing his red nose with a snap.  
  
As he lay in bed that night it was all he could do not to whoop, cheer and yell in delight. He WAS a knight and she HAD let him into her castle.  
  
James made a mental note to carry lots of shiny armour polish in future.  
  
***  
  
And that was that.  
  
That burst of ridiculous giggles that he had managed to extract out of her was a kind of trigger inside him. Suddenly everything else seemed a little mundane as long as he just kept her laughing. If he didn't make her at least smile daily then he'd feel as if he'd somehow failed and that he'd let her down. Gradually, all through their first and second years she opened up more and more and the more he found out about her, the more James seemed to like her.  
  
Sometimes he'd feel as if things were going to far, as if it wasn't possible to be as fond of someone as he was of her. Towards the end of his second year, every night he'd lie in bed and make resolution after resolution to slow down. The feelings he was experiencing were so strong that sometimes they scared him a little.  
  
But in the morning, when he came down to the Great Hall and spotted her poking her toast from behind a book, he'd think: "Aw, the hell with it," and things would escalate a little more as they did every day.  
  
Then, in their third year, he had just sort of lost control and kissed her. She had been really quite shocked at first but at least it had taken her mind off that weird Tralewney woman and her bogus predictions. He had kind of made a run for it after that, scared out of his wits that now she hated him or he'd gone too far and made her close up again. Then, that night, he'd found her in her usual sofa by the fire behind an even bigger book than the one she'd had two years ago when he'd first spoken to her. He sat down next to her quietly, wondering what on Earth he was going to say. She hadn't looked up from her book like she usually did. James fiddled with the lose ends of his Gryffindor tie.  
  
"Listen, I'm sorry if I. . ."  
  
How familiar that sounded, he thought before he was interrupted, again, quite familiarly.  
  
Lily let her book drop with a quiet thump, leaned over to take the tie from his shaking hands and used it to pull him into a kiss. And suddenly everything was better than ever.  
  
***  
  
Cheers to my two more reviewers: Blue Smurfette Loves Cheese, hotmegan squareskirt 


	4. Do Not Abort Mission

Fluff! Get your fresh fluff here! Fluff going spare! We have fluff coming out of our ears! Another short and pointless L/J fic that doesn't really require much thought so I'm writing it during my exams just to keep myself going! More chapters to come. Free fluff anyone?  
  
I don't own anything except the concepts you've never heard of before. I wonder how much money I'd get for them. . . J K Rowling owns the plasticine; I just play with it.  
  
Please don't sue me; I am only a fourteen-year-old with a word-processor and a copy of the New Penguin English Dictionary.  
  
And now, our feature presentation. . .  
  
~*~Four~*~Do Not Abort Mission. . . ~*~  
  
"Pst! Tessa! I need your help!"  
  
Tessa Fields looked up from her Charms textbook. Unfortunately, NEWTs coursework didn't do itself.  
  
"Oh! Hi James! Where's Lily?" It was odd when Lily was somewhere for James to be somewhere else. This was very rare spectacle.  
  
"In the Library, but I need you not to tell her I'm telling you this, or tell anyone else because they'll tell her or else everything'll be ruined."  
  
"Wait, how does that work?" Tessa frowned.  
  
"I'm just telling you not to tell anyone," James reiterated.  
  
"Oh, that makes sense," Tessa said, relieved. "So what did you want to tell me that you were telling me not to tell anyone?"  
  
"Wait, what was that?" asked James, confused.  
  
"Spill the beans, buddy," Tessa said.  
  
"Well, I need you to help me pick something out for Lily," James asked.  
  
"Alright, what is it? Chocolate? A hat? Underwear?"  
  
"No, no, no," James said, going a little red. If he were ever to buy Lily underwear it would be after he'd picked out this thing first. "It's jewellery, and I know nothing about nice jewellery." Tessa made an impressed noise.  
  
"Wow, but I thought you got your mum to help you choose that necklace you got her last year."  
  
"Well, yes, but that was just a Christmas present, she could have taken it back if she'd wanted, and this time it isn't a necklace, it's a ring."  
  
Tessa's elbow slipped of the table, knocking all her books to the floor, however she didn't even seem to notice.  
  
"A ring?!" she mouthed very obviously.  
  
James nodded.  
  
"You're not. . .asking her. . .asking her to. . ."  
  
James nodded, a bit of a grin on his face. Tessa emitted a noise that sounded like a whistling kettle.  
  
"Why? How? When?" she demanded, as James desperately tried to quieten her down.  
  
"Why? Because she is the one; how? I don't know, I'm working on that one; when? Sometime after our NEWTs I think, I don't want Lily to have any distractions during the dreaded exam period."  
  
"Who else knows?" she asked breathlessly.  
  
"Er, Moony, Padfoot and Wormtail, and they're the only ones."  
  
"Oh good, I'm going to have to discuss this with someone! Otherwise I'm probably going to explode!"  
  
"No! No! No! You must not tell anyone!" James whispered urgently as she nodded and tried to calm down, not for long, however.  
  
Tessa's inner kettle boiled again.  
  
"Oh, I'm so excited!" she gasped, on the verge of hyperventilating. "This is so cool! Who would have thought? James Potter and Lily Evans. . ."  
  
James left her to her delirious ramblings and went to find Lily. She was sitting at a table in the Library with Remus Lupin and Sirius Black. His best friend looked up but James put a finger to his lips. Silently, he transformed into his Animagus and smiled when Lily didn't even notice. She was so focused on learning the forty uses of Ruffleleaf Pollen that she didn't even look up when Remus and Sirius were red in the face from trying not to laugh.  
  
James's hooves shifted closer to the legs of her chair and a stag's eyes stared at what she was working on. Grinning inside, he bent his head and lightly dusted her cheek by flapping his long ear. Lily shook her head slightly and closed her eyes to test herself on the first ten uses of her list. The stag blew air out of his nose in frustration and Sirius stuffed a fist into his mouth.  
  
James bent his head again and carefully unhooked a coil of red hair from behind his girlfriend's ear with the tip if his antler. Lily took absolutely no notice at all, she just shifted her fingers from her forehead and swept her hair back behind her ear. Remus gave the stag a look that said: "If this is the amount of attention your fiancée is going to give you then you'd better get her a really big ring!"  
  
The stag shifted its hooves again and snorted in annoyance. Sirius fell off his chair in hilarity. James quietly moved his nose close to Lily's face as his tongue darted out to lick her freckled cheek. She gasped in shock as she opened her eyes and laughed a little as she faced him.  
  
Finally! thought James happily.  
  
"James! Change back before Madam Pince comes in and discovers a wild animal in the Library!" James chuckled as his figure shrunk to a kneeling boy's. He wiped Lily's cheek with his sleeve and kissed her properly.  
  
"I'm bored," he complained.  
  
"Well, wait a minute, I'll shift some of this stuff," Lily said, flustering about for a minute. While her attention was diverted, Sirius and Remus made ring signs with their thumbs and forefingers with questioning looks on their faces.  
  
She said she would, James mouthed at them. Remus grinned and Sirius made a thumbs-up sign.  
  
"It's alright," he said out loud to Lily. "I'll just sit here." Within three seconds Lily found her seat has been stolen and she was now sitting on the lap of a messy-haired boy with round glasses.  
  
"You really must teach me that," remarked Sirius. Lily sighed.  
  
"Well, as long as you're here, you can help me learn these," she said, picking up her list.  
  
"It's perfectly easy Lily dearest, all you have to do is take the first five letters of each one and they spell out the lyrics of Celestina Warbeck's latest hit."  
  
Lily frowned as she scanned the list.  
  
"Well, I never. . ." she muttered in awe. "How on Earth did you find that?"  
  
"Sirius was singing in the shower as I was learning them," James explained. He took the list from her and slipped it inside her open book, closing it and gathering up her things. "Well that's that sorted. Come to Hogsmeade with me tonight?" he pleaded.  
  
"Sneak out again? But I have all this to revise," Lily protested.  
  
"But you know it back to front and upside-down anyway," James dismissed. "Please? Please? Please?"  
  
"I don't know. . ."  
  
"Good enough!" James stated. He grabbed her round the waist, stood up and slung her over his shoulder.  
  
"Have a good time!" called Sirius, winking at Lily, who was, by now, used to being transported like a sack of potatoes.  
  
"What's in it for me?" she asked, teasing.  
  
"What, apart from the amazingly entertaining pleasure of my company? I'll buy you some hot chocolate."  
  
"You had better; I don't sneak out for nothing you know," Lily feigned haughtiness.  
  
"Or anyone," agreed James as the made their exit. "Only one man could persuade the Great Lily Evans to break a school rule."  
  
"Yes, and unfortunately, I'm going out with the poor sod."  
  
"Poor sod? Try luckiest guy on Earth."  
  
He set her down beside the statue of the one-eyed witch, pulled out his wand and tapped the statue, muttering "Dissendium".  
  
"Now is the time to make a run for it, you know," he told her with a wink.  
  
"Make a run for it? Not likely! I want my hot chocolate!"  
  
"In that case, after you my lady."  
  
"Why thank you my lord."  
  
In the darkness of the tunnel, only dimly lit by the light of James's wand, he reached over and took her hand, watching a small smile blossom on her face. They emerged in the storage room of Huneydukes sweetshop and unlocked the door from the inside, stepping out into the warm summer night air. The only light spilling onto the cobbled street was from the Three Broomsticks and the two students headed over to the small pub.  
  
James hung up their cloaks and followed Lily to the bar where they sat down, hands still clasped.  
  
"Afternoon dears," Madam Rosemerta trilled, as she swept over to them, clacking her heals all the way. "What can I get you?"  
  
"A tankard of Hot Chocolate, my good woman, and two mugs, please," James added.  
  
"Oh you," the barwoman smiled. "Here, are you supposed to be out of school at this hour?" she asked cheerfully.  
  
"Well, you know, strictly speaking. . .we are. . .as you say. . .stretching certain. . .barriers. . ." James dribbled. Madam Rosemerta made a noise of understanding and tapped the side of her nose.  
  
"Don't worry dears, I can keep a secret when I want to," she winked, setting down their order and sweeping up James's coins. "Enjoy your beverage."  
  
While they were sitting down, giving themselves moustaches with the cream of their hot chocolates, James was thinking about how much he loved the girl sitting next to him. It was strange, but when she had been shy at the beginning of school, she had been intriguing and interesting enough, now the more he found out about her, the more captivating and enchanting she became. The liquid in the tankard became less and less and soon they were stepping out onto the cobbled street again.  
  
James looked up when he felt the drops on his face. Rain came down, stronger and stronger, splattering his glasses. Lily retreated to the dry of the pub's doorway. James grinned at her.  
  
"Didn't your mother ever tell you it's rude to linger in doorways?" he teased her.  
  
Her eyes widened as she surveyed the extreme weather condition in the street. "James, are you mad? It's pouring!"  
  
"Aw, come on, Lily! We'll make a run for it, Ready?"  
  
"No!" laughed Lily.  
  
"One, two, three!" shouted James. He grabbed her hand and pulled her into the street with him. They sprinted full tilt into the rain towards the sweetshop, and James thought they were going to make it until he slipped up and went flying into a puddle, landing on his arse and pulling Lily to a stop beside him. She gasped.  
  
"James, are you alright?" she asked urgently.  
  
"I think I've broken something," James said worriedly.  
  
"Oh no!" cried Lily. "I knew we shouldn't have come out! Are you really hurt? Can you walk?"  
  
"I don't think so," James said in a painful voice. "A broken arse is probably going to set me back a month! I'll have to miss my NEWTs!"  
  
Lily stared down at him for a minute, then a burst of ridiculous giggles gushed out of her.  
  
"What?" asked James in mock scandal.  
  
"James, you are sitting in a puddle, telling me you've broken your arse," she forced out between her laughs.  
  
"It's all good, clean fun," grinned James scooping up a little water and splashing her with it.  
  
"Come on, we'll get Madam Pomfrey to inspect your injury," Lily said, a sly smile on her face.  
  
"You know, suddenly, it's feeling so much better," James said quickly, letting her hoist him up. "Look, I'm even dancing in the rain!"  
  
Lily had to be tagged along behind the skipping eighteen-year-old as he twirled in front of her, kicking up puddles a little more frequently than she would have thought.  
  
"James, you're crazy!" she told him, smiling however.  
  
"Ha! Whose fault is that?" he accused, poking her in the chest. Rain was falling onto her cheeks, soaking her freckles. All of a sudden, James wanted her to. . .  
  
"Would you care to dance with me, my lady?" he asked her, holding out his hand again.  
  
Lily brought her hand to her mouth to stifle a laugh. James, James, James, always the perfect gentleman.  
  
Normally, she would have protested, if half-heartedly, or teasingly. But now, in the rain, already soaked to the bone and with the boy she loved, it all told her to say yes.  
  
"Of course," she said quietly, taking his hand. James pulled her to him and started a tango-like dance around the benches of the street. Twirling her around the cobbles he asked her:  
  
"So was it worth it?"  
  
"What?" she asked, smiling in spite of herself. James rolled her in like a yoyo and sent her out again.  
  
"Ignoring your revision and sneaking out," he said, smiling with her. Lily pretended to think for a minute as she ducked under his arm while twirling.  
  
"Um. . ." she started to say, when James wrapped both his arms around her, picked her up a little bit, (ignoring the rather unromantic squelch their wet clothes made against one another) and laid such a kiss on her that she probably would have been floating anyway without his help.  
  
Lily's hands came up to his face as he set her down slowly and they broke away.  
  
"Definitely," she replied decidedly.  
  
***  
  
Cheers to my three more reviewers: Blue Smurfette Loves Cheese, hotmegan squareskirt, Phaerie 


	5. It looked Bad For A Minute There, Sir

Fluff! Get your fresh fluff here! Fluff going spare! We have fluff coming out of our ears! Another short and pointless L/J fic that doesn't really require much thought so I'm writing it during my exams just to keep myself going! More chapters to come. Free fluff anyone?  
  
I don't own anything except the concepts you've never heard of before. I wonder how much money I'd get for them. . . J K Rowling owns the plasticine; I just play with it.  
  
Please don't sue me; I am only a fourteen-year-old with a word-processor and a copy of the New Penguin English Dictionary.  
  
And now, our feature presentation. . .  
  
~*~Five~*~It Looked Bad For A Minute There, Sir. . . ~*~  
  
"So you're leaning towards that one?" asked James, frowning.  
  
"I don't know," sighed Tessa hopelessly, "I suppose that is the best one out of the lot, let's have a look at those over there."  
  
Tessa Field pointed to each of the precious metal bands and cringed at every one.  
  
"Yuk, no, er, nope, ew, nah, yuch, not even if it was the last ring on Earth!" she declared in disgust.  
  
James sighed in frustration.  
  
"Are you sure NONE of these are nice?" he asked desperately.  
  
"Hey, these aren't my preferences, I'm thinking Lily thoughts here!"  
  
"I'm sure Lily would never be so rude to poor Mr Harry Winston," James said.  
  
It was a Hogsmeade weekend and, unlike the night before, James was allowed to be where he was at that moment, and it brought him no pleasure whatsoever. He and Tessa had been traipsing around the village's jewellers all morning and so far, no luck. Tessa had wrinkled her nose at what seemed like every ring in the village and there had definitely been one hell of a lot of rings.  
  
"Well, he is a wizard! He should be able to make nicer rings! I mean, diamonds that magically sparkle? Come on, how tacky can you get?" They stepped out into the street and sat down on a bench in front of the Three Broomsticks.  
  
"You know, Tess, I'm not questioning your judgement or anything, but you'll excuse me if I find it hard to believe that. . . wait a minute, say every shop magically holds five thousand rings, five shops, that's. . .out of twenty-five thousand rings, none of them would be to Lily's liking."  
  
"Oh plenty of them would be to Lily's liking," Tessa said dismissively, "You know her, she's an agreeable soul, but I know how much you love her, James, and I know that you would want her to have the perfect ring, so I'm trying to find the perfect ring," she half shouted through gritted teeth.  
  
"Thanks, Tess," smiled James.  
  
"Oh, don't thank me yet," she said, grinning, "We have to find the damn thing first!"  
  
"Anyway," James said worriedly, leaning his elbows on his knees and staring at his hands, "It'll only matter if she says yes."  
  
"She will," Tessa said decidedly.  
  
"Yeah, but, I mean, you know, maybe, what if she doesn't?"  
  
Tessa nearly fell off the bench. She'd never seen James this worried or serious before in her life. It was positively unnerving.  
  
She frowned and leaned over to look him in the eye. "Are you bloody joking? Of course she'll say yes! Bloody hell, James! You've been going out for, what? Four years? And I know for a fact that she loves the frigging spectacles off you, mate. Oh no, don't you worry, James, she'll say yes." James grinned.  
  
"Well, you never know, our little Lilikins is full of surprises," he shrugged.  
  
"Yeah, and I bet one of those surprises is the fact that she's been snogging Amos Diggory in a broom closet every night you've been at Quidditch Practice," Tessa said, giggling. James's brow knit as he laughed uncertainly.  
  
"Please don't say things like that," he said, pushing his glasses back up his nose.  
  
"Alright, lover boy, come on, next shop."  
  
***  
  
"Quite frankly, a plain gold band would be better than any of these," Tessa sighed, an hour later.  
  
"Did you see one?" asked James, in the same frustrated tone.  
  
"No, but look, "Commissions Accepted", we could get one, and it'd probably be cheaper than any of these."  
  
James stared at the sign on the counter. "'Commissions Accepted'," he repeated. "Tess! That's it! If we can't find Lily the perfect ring, then we'll have to make her the perfect ring! Brilliant! With my symbolic awareness, creativity and flare and your guidance, knowledge of jewellery, and ability to be brutally honest, it'll be the best piece of jewellery in history!"  
  
"It'll be the most expensive piece of jewellery in history," scoffed Tessa. "Commissions aren't cheap, you know."  
  
"Do I look like I care?" asked James bluntly.  
  
"Oh yes, I forgot, James Potter, spendthrift extraordinaire."  
  
"Whatever, Fields. You can't wind me up because I'm going to make an engagement ring for my girlfriend!" James sang, practically skipping over to the counter.  
  
***  
  
"Hi Remus."  
  
The boy looked up from his chess pieces that he was packing away into a small box.  
  
"Hi Lily, where's James?" It was odd when Lily was somewhere for James to be somewhere else. This was very rare spectacle.  
  
Lily sat down opposite Remus.  
  
"That's what I wanted to ask you, do you know where he is? Only I need to give him back his Transfiguration notes before next week when our NEWTs start, he'll need to revise."  
  
"James? Revise?" Remus smiled, "James? Revise? Transfiguration?! Are you feeling alright Lily? As for where old Prongs is, I'm sure I don't know."  
  
"Prongs?" asked Sirius, who'd flopped down on the sofa next to Lily. "I thought he was out with Te- Ow!" Sirius tried to inconspicuously rub his leg where Remus had kicked him.  
  
"Out with Tessa?" asked Lily. "Have they gone to Hogsmeade? Oh well, can I just leave them with you, and I can give them to him when he gets back?" asked Lily, dumping a wad of papers onto Sirius, winding him a little.  
  
"Anything for you, Lily dearest," Sirius smiled, fighting for breath.  
  
"See you at dinner; I'll be in the Library," she said, and left through the Portrait Hole. Remus sighed in relief.  
  
"That was close," he remarked.  
  
"Aw, why should she suspect anything?" asked Sirius, shifting James's notes into the seat Lily had just vacated. "Anyway, her head's too full of revision and facts that'll be useless to us after our exams and that we'll have forgotten within a year," he added. "Nothing to worry about."  
  
***  
  
All through his exams the next week, James found himself doodling ring after ring on his exam papers. Although this probably wasn't healthy, and he probably should have been checking his answers instead, James thought that brainstorming a design for Lily's ring was much more important than the petty exams that did nothing except get him a job.  
  
Then, after finishing his Transfiguration paper an hour early, James stumbled upon a design he liked. Smiling, he unscrewed the tops off his bottles of green and red ink and finished the doodle off.  
  
"Mr Potter!" Professor McGonagall hissed in his ear, making him jump. "This is a Transfiguration exam! Not an art lesson! Get back to you answer paper!" James sighed and went back to staring aimlessly at his correct answers.  
  
Soon after, when she came around to collect their papers, Professor McGonagall gave him a small, but nevertheless odd look at the various jewellery designs on his paper, as James tactfully concentrated on packing away his things.  
  
He waited for his friends at the doorway to the classroom. Sirius grinned at him.  
  
"Tut tut, Prongs has been naughty! Mucking about during the exam!" James shrugged, falling into step next to Lily.  
  
"However did you finish so early?" asked Lily curiously. "I hope you checked your answers."  
  
"Can't say I did," James grinned, putting an arm around her waist and clamping her to his side. Lily sighed.  
  
"James, you are insufferable," she told him. James shrugged, grinning and bent down to kiss her cheek.  
  
"And you are incredible," he told her back.  
  
***  
  
Lily sat in the common room by the fire behind a book, like she used to do every night when James was at Quidditch Practise. Except now, with the end of term so near, and Gryffindor having won the Quidditch Cup already, there were no more practices.  
  
Lily had hoped that this would have given him a little more time to spend with his friends and herself, but ever since their NEWTs had ended over a week ago, she hadn't spent more than fifteen minutes with him at once.  
  
She was starting to miss him.  
  
She knew it was silly, I mean, he lived and slept within twenty metres of her! And he did sit next to her in the small amount of lessons they had together. It was just that. . .  
  
She wondered what he could possibly be doing. Every time she asked any of the Marauders where he was, they replied that he was out and the time he would be back. Tessa had been going missing a lot lately as well and Lily could only assume they were together. She supposed it was nice that they were getting to be such good friend but in truth, she couldn't help being a tiny bit jealous. She was only human after all and not being with James as much as she would have liked was getting her a little annoyed. She couldn't even concentrate on her book!  
  
She looked over the back of the sofa when the Portrait Hole opened and someone entered. Her heart skipped when she saw it was James himself.  
  
He saw her peeking over the back of her piece of furniture and smiled broadly, taking off his cloak and hurrying over to her. Playfully, he dropped it on her head, extracting a muffled "Hey!" from the redhead.  
  
"Whoops, sorry Lil, didn't see you there." He lifted a corner of the material and grinned at her. Lily blew a raspberry and smiled, breathing in his smell.  
  
James flopped down next to her and stuck his own head under the cloak with her, making them a tent where the only light was being reflected off Lily's green eyes. James kissed her for a while and then threw the cloak over their legs as Lily leaned back on his chest. James smiled, content to just be there with his Lily and peck her on the cheek every once in a while.  
  
"Where's Tessa?" asked Lily, as soon as they were comfortable.  
  
"I don't know, why?" asked James. Lily hurt inside, why was he lying to her? Sirius had told her they were out together,  
  
"I thought you were out with her," Lily said carefully. James realised he'd been caught out so he changed track.  
  
"I was, but I don't know where she is now. Probably in the Astronomy Tower with someone," he grinned. Lily smiled as well. She was being paranoid; he wasn't lying.  
  
"James," she said.  
  
"Hm?"  
  
"I love you."  
  
He knew it, she knew it, but maybe. . .he needed reminding. . .  
  
"Not as much as I love you," he replied smugly. Lily smiled again. Typical James, make it into a competition. She DID love it though.  
  
James pulled her closer as he felt himself falling asleep, and did nothing about it.  
  
Tessa entered the Common Room not long after, specially applied lipstick smudged and a disgruntled look on her face. Fuming, she started to stomp towards the Girls' Staircase, but stopped when she spotted the sleeping couple.  
  
Silently Tessa smiled as she gazed at her two friends.  
  
"Yes, definitely," she thought, "That is going to last forever."  
  
***  
  
Tessa stabbed her scrambled eggs angrily. Lily raised her eyebrows. It was last day of term. All the other students were preparing to leave, but the seventh years were staying one more day for tomorrow was their graduation ceremony. Alright, it was enough to make anyone sad that they were leaving Hogwarts, but her friend looked like she was going to burst a blood vessel any minute.  
  
"What's wrong, Tess?" asked Lily.  
  
"Stupid Filch," Tessa muttered. "If you must know, I was in the Astronomy Tower with Philip Atkins last night, and Filch had picked that night of all nights to dust the telescopes!" Lily snorted into her toast. "I have a detention on our Graduation night! I'm going to miss the party!"  
  
"What's you task?" asked Lily, full of sympathy.  
  
"Sweeping the Great Hall," moaned Tessa. Lily cringed. "I know," agreed Tessa. "It'll probably take, what? Two hours? That means if the party really stars to swing at eight, I'll only have one hour at the beginning and. . .if it goes on till about five in the morning, six hours after!"  
  
"Don't worry, Tess, it's not that bad," Lily tried to comfort her friend and smother a smile at the same time. "At least Fetid Filch didn't take any points off."  
  
"That's the thing, though," Tessa said in an outraged voice, "He threatened to take about a zillion points off if he found the job not done and me gone! We'd be in the negatives for next year's House Cup!" She leaned forward and narrowed her grey eyes in scandal. "I won't even be allowed to bunk off!"  
  
"Come on, Tess, it's alright," Lily said kindly. "Seven hours at a party isn't too shabby. Ones after a Quidditch match only last about three hours."  
  
"Well, there are usually eleven-year-olds present," Tessa said grumpily, "And besides, this is the last Gryffindpr Party ever. It should at least be good for everyone, as in without a two-hour shift of Great Hall-sweeping in the middle."  
  
***  
  
The Professors had decided long ago to tactfully turn a blind eye to the infamous goings on in the Gryffindor Common Room on the night before Graduation. Gryffindor prefects after Gryffindor prefects had battled endlessly against the threats of professors with the excuse that it was, technically, the end of term, so nothing they did really counted against them. The professors had also reasoned that the points liable to be taken off the Gryffindors would almost certainly lose them the House Cup every year, and as Professor Dumbledore had said, you couldn't punish someone for their ability to have fun, it was just that every house chose to do it in their own way.  
  
The Hufflepuffs were usually too nervous about their exam results to have a good time, the Ravenclaws wouldn't dream of having any sort of social event when their was so much job preparation to be done and the Slytherins looked on parties as trivial and petty, besides, they had much more important and ambitious things to plan.  
  
On the other side of the castle however, the Gryffindor Common Room was loud, raucous and thick with the smell of various perfumes, Firewhiskey and Butterbeer. The beat of the music seemed to shake the very stones in the walls and even thought the room itself was large and spacious, it seemed full to the brim with movement, dancing and people. The people themselves were ecstatic. They were eighteen, on the verge of a big step in their lives, leaving school tomorrow, NEWTs were over and they were damned if any one of those reasons wasn't good enough to get out of this place with a bang. . .  
  
Or a multitude if colourful and exotic explosions, in the Marauders' case. Homemade, no-heat, no-sound fireworks burst in a flurry of colour over the Gryffindors' heads, courtesy of James Potter and his friends. James himself was sitting in a big armchair with Lily, breathing hard, having just sat down after nearly an hour of dancing.  
  
Tessa wound her way round the milling crowds towards them.  
  
"Well, I'm off!" she announced. "My irreplaceable presence will have to grace the Great Hall for two hours, but the second I'm finished I'm warning you, I'm getting back here like a shot and getting drunk for England!"  
  
"Hooray!" cheered Sirius, "I wouldn't like to see all that booze we sneaked in from the Three Broomstick to go to waste, you know, especially not on someone as blindingly gorgeous as you. You don't think you'd be a bit nicer to me once you'd sipped a few, do you?"  
  
"I'll be drunk, Sirius, not downright insane," Tessa said.  
  
"Nevermind, worth a try," he grinned.  
  
"Have fun," Lily smiled, giving her friend a quick squeeze as she got up to bring her and James more Butterbeer. She had persuaded him not to drink himself daft by pointing out that he had to give a speech the next morning and a massive hangover would most definitely make him a bit of a laughing stock. It'd be clear that he'd been pretty wasted the night before if he was cringing at his own magnified voice or slurring his words.  
  
"Oh I will, don't worry," Tessa said sardonically. James was watching Lily disappear into the crowds. As soon as she was well and truly hidden he caught Tessa but the arm and whispered in her ear.  
  
"It got delivered this morning." Tessa gasped.  
  
"No!" she grinned, "Well, let's have a look then! Actually, wait a minute, tell you what, come to the Great Hall in an hour and show me, OK?"  
  
James nodded. "I want your opinion, Lily' opinion, your mother's opinion, and Lily's mother's opinion, understand?" he grinned.  
  
"I'll do my best!" exclaimed Tessa happily, and she skipped off towards the Portrait Hole, humming something that sounded suspiciously like "Here Comes The Bride". James smiled and went to ambush Lily, dragging her onto the dance floor, bottles of Butterbeer and all.  
  
***  
  
Tessa brushed angrily at the floor with all the speed she could muster. The thought of everyone else in Gryffindor in the Common Room; having a good time without her was almost unbearable. She stopped for a breather and observed that she'd done over half in just under an hour. She looked towards the big doors as they opened and James poked his head round. She grinned and hurriedly beckoned him over.  
  
"Come on! Come on! Hurry up! Before I explode!" she urged, banging the broom on the stone slabs.  
  
James put his hand into his pocket and flicked open the small box before it was even out, (he'd been practicing,) and Tessa gasped. James bit his lip, was it excellent of awful?  
  
"It's so gorgeous," she said in awe, "Lily will love it, and I'm not lying," she said for emphasis. James handed it to her.  
  
"Look," he pointed. Tessa's eyes lit up again.  
  
"Oh my gosh! That's so clev-!"  
  
She stopped because she'd just caught a flash of red near the door. James looked behind himself at her expression and saw Lily standing in the doorway, utmost shock on her face as well, except it was a much worse sort than the expression on Tessa's face. James swore, suddenly realising how the situation must look. Lily shot behind the door and ran for her life. Well, anyone would, if it looked like your boyfriend of four years had proposed to one of your closest friends.  
  
James turned back to Tessa, fear, pleading and What-do-I-do-now? on his face.  
  
"Uuuuhhhh!" screamed Tessa, shoving the ring back into hand and pushing him a little. It was like the sound on the end of "Duh" but she'd economised on the D because she was saving them for the words dumbarse, doofus, dork, dumbo and dipstick. "What the Bloody Hell are you waiting for, man?" she demanded. James stumbled a little as she shoved him towards the door. "Run! Damn it! Run!" She raised the broom to take a swing at his chest if that was what it took to get him moving. It was alright though; he started running towards the door, wrenched it open and darted after Lily.  
  
Now that she'd acted, Tess just stood there along in the Great Hall, letting the belated shock settle in. For a minute, her brain digested the event of the last few seconds and the possible consequences of what had happened first came in a trickle, then a flood.  
  
Tessa breathed again, faster and faster, panicking slightly. It was OK, it was only a misunderstanding. By tomorrow Lily and James would be back side- by-side where they belonged. Nervously she chewed her thumbnail and paced up and down. If Lily and James ended it because of her, she didn't think she'd ever forgive herself. It just wasn't right! There was no Lily without James and certainly no James without Lily, the whole system would collapse and nothing would ever be the same.  
  
Suddenly, she frowned! What was she doing here, when she may be need to sort things out? Angrily, she pulled out her wand and waved it; she was no longer a student! She could do magic wherever the hell she wanted! What had she been thinking? She waved her wand hurriedly, muttering a cleaning charm. Not much, but it was good enough. Then she dropped the broom and sprinted like lightning after her friends.  
  
***  
  
Lily shook her head and wrenched her gaze away from the dark aisles of the Library. It was doing her no good thinking that way of James and all the memories he held for her. Angrily brushing her tears away, scolding herself that she had no reason to cry, Lily sprinted the rest of the way to the Portrait Hole. When she reached it however, she saw with dismay that the Fat Lady was out. Cursing inside, she slapped her hand to the wall, twisted round and leaned against it, sighing in misery. The thumping of the party vibrated out through the wall and buzzed against her back.  
  
Running footsteps made her head jerk up. She could even recognise that tall figure in the darkness. Lily turned around, folded her arms, curled her shoulders and stared religiously at the wall. James came to a stop behind her and breathed hard, letting the words tumbled.  
  
"Lily, please turn around, please, I have to talk to you."  
  
Lily didn't think she could do that without breaking down completely. There was only one thing to do then.  
  
"Lily, please don't cry, don't be upset, I hate it so," James continued. He reached out to touch her but before, he could, she turned around.  
  
"I'm not upset," she said perfectly calmly. James stared at her in horror.  
  
Inside he was swearing, cursing and thrashing himself to bits. This couldn't be happening! She was closing up before him! Everything he'd worked for, everything he'd done in the last seven years, every wonderful aspect of herself she'd shown him was disappearing inside her, behind that big book on her lap that she let down for him in their first year. The Princess was shutting her drawbridge and James's shiny armour was sporting a rather large dent.  
  
"No, please Lily, listen to me." He held out his hand. "The ring is for you."  
  
He could tell she didn't believe him. That was it, he was done for, he'd lost his only chance. He'd broken the fragile trust that Lily had so kindly given him, the one that had prevented her getting truly suspicious up until now. She averted her eyes from the ring as if it were hurting her to look at it.  
  
"Lily?"  
  
Something in his voice broke and Lily's eyes flew up to look at him. No, she couldn't do it, she couldn't build her wall back up again, it was too painful. A few seconds ago she'd told herself to pack it up, lock it and throw it overboard, but looking at James told her it was hopeless. She loved him too much. . .so she carefully picked up the ring from his trembling fingers.  
  
It was a gold, frosted band, pretty simple, with a single ruby set into the top in the shape of a cross. . .a chunky, red plus sign.  
  
"Look," James said. His fingers guided hers into turning the ring upside down so she could see the other side.  
  
The red cross shone through to the inside and on either side of it were too emeralds, flat with the curve of the ring and in the shape of letters, proudly proclaiming:  
  
J + L  
  
Lily stopped breathing and tightened her pinch on the ring for fear that she was going to drop it. She smiled slowly and looked up at James again.  
  
Where'd he gone?  
  
Scanning everywhere she eventually looked down and jumped about a foot. He was on bended knee, taking her hand and saying.  
  
"Marry me, Lils?"  
  
That was it, the ice broke, and things were the way they always were. James was half expecting her to say, "Marry you? But I've got all this revising to do!"  
  
She grinned, sighed in slightly weary way and said.  
  
"Go on then."  
  
Like a Jack-in-the-box, James sprung up and seized the ring out of her grasp, pushing it onto her finger and laughing for the Olympics, he hugged her harder than ever. The he landed one of his famous kisses on her, famous for only being famous to her but definitely deserving of fame in Lily's opinion.  
  
So deserving of fame, in fact, that Lily didn't notice Tessa come to a stop behind her. Smiling, she leaned against the wall for a bit, watching the almost sickening display of bliss and noticed a glimmer of gold and red on her friend's finger.  
  
"'Scuse me, sorry, whoops, didn't see you there," she said cheerfully, not surprised when she heard no reply. They were in a world of their own and they deserved to be so she didn't make a big deal out of it when she knocked on the frame of the Portrait Hole and Sirius opened it.  
  
He caught sight of the kissing two and grinned, standing back to let Tessa in. He was thinking along the same lines as her, and shut the Portrait Hole after. Turning to Tessa, he blew upwards into his fringe.  
  
"So. . .it'll be Lily and James Potter soon, then?"  
  
"Looks like it," Tess agreed. She turned around and surveyed the party before her. Yep, everything was cool, and she didn't have anything to worry about. Now she wanted to have fun!  
  
"Come on then, Twinkle-puppy," she ordered, grabbing his arm with out turning round. "Dance with me." Sirius grinned, unable to believe his luck.  
  
"Woof!" he simply replied.  
  
***  
  
The Fat Lady came to a halt in a village on a small hill landscape. From there she could see everything and immediately it had clicked. Yep, they had fallen out and she had run and he had followed her, gallantly proving his love and all that and. . .oooh! Lily Evans, the Head Girl had a ring on her finger! Wow! Now that was something!  
  
As she had predicted, the party was still bordering on the term, "Riot". This couple didn't look like they'd notice if Professor McGonagall tap- danced past stark naked, though. She grinned and turned back to the village; she'd always been rooting for those two.  
  
When she returned to the Café on the third floor, he found Vi being chatted up by that rather dishy former Charms professor, who'd had his portrait done and put up in the Staff Room with all the others. Humphryetta felt like a massive Cupid in a pink silk dress, and playing matchmaker was certainly fun. She smiled as she sat down at the table and waited for the subtle but definite flirting to subside.  
  
"Oh, hello Etta!" said Vi. "I ordered you another Triple Chocolate Sundae." No, you were just feeling guilty, thought Etta triumphantly, she tucked into the mountainous creation anyway and smiled.  
  
"Who was at the Portrait; did they need letting in urgently like you said?" asked Vi pleasantly.  
  
"Hm? Oh, no Vi, don't worry your attractive little head about it. . ." she smiled again, thinking she'd tell her friend the good Head Boy-Girl news when she'd finished her sundae. "Oh yes. . .False alarm."  
  
***  
  
Thanks to my wonderful reviewers:  
  
Abarraine, renée, tori-babe, Sammy, TrinitYMalfoY527, perdy pink pineapples, ambookworm247  
  
Exams are over!! Hooray!! I never, ever have to listen to another word of Latin, French or Technology again! Life is wonderful!  
  
This also means that The Story Of James Potter should be updated soon as well. Hmmm. . .Year three. . . 


End file.
